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United States Special Forces carried out a major raid in northwest Syria in the early hours of Thursday morning, reportedly killing more than a dozen people—including six children and four women.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said in a brief statement that U.S. forces "conducted a counterterrorism mission" but did not specify the target of the raid.
Kirby made no mention of the reported civilian deaths, saying only that "there were no U.S. casualties." The Pentagon is notorious for underreporting or covering up civilian casualties in U.S.-led military actions.
While the official details of the operation remain murky, local residents, first responders, and journalists on the ground described a large-scale raid that included helicopters and F-16 warplanes, which bombed and shelled the area ahead of the airdrop raid.
Graphic photos and witness accounts from the scene indicate significant carnage, with blood covering the floors and walls of a building that appeared to be a main target of the operation. Images also showed U.S.-made explosive devices scattered near the scene, including one from the Colorado-based Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company.
The Associated Press reported that the targeted building "contained a wrecked bedroom with a child's wooden crib on the floor."
"On one damaged wall, a blue plastic swing for children was still hanging," the outlet observed. "The kitchen was blackened with fire damage."
This content originally appeared on Common Dreams - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community and was authored by Jake Johnson.